Top Menu

New Wimax femtocell standard released

The Wimax Forum and Femto Forum yesterday announced the publication of their first Wimax femotocell standard, which they have been working on since June 2009.

This standard will allow vendors to start developing femtocells and associated network equipment based on the Wimax 802.16e radio profile.

A femotocell is a small cellular base station that enables cellphone coverage into a home or small business.

These specifications incorporate a security framework that allows Wimax networks to support a large number of access points via standard IPSec-based security gateways. It also contains Self Organizing Network (SON) capabilities to allow automatic configuration of large numbers of femtocells.

Future revisions will further enhance the SON capabilities to standardize automatic interference management between femtocells and macro base stations.

In addition, the standard also incorporates support for three usage models to support different deployment scenarios such as residential, enterprise and outdoor environments.

“Femtocells will allow operators to cost-effectively improve coverage indoors, in rural areas and in urban locations,” said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the Wimax Forum.

The Wimax Forum aims to start certifying compatible products in early 2011.